Chair-seat.



A. H. BARBER.

CHAIR SEAT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 13, 1908 Patented Dec. 1, 1908.

ARCHER- H. BARBER, or NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS.

CHAIR-SEAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1, 1908.

Application filed February 13, 1908. Serial No. 415,644.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARCHER H. BARBER, a citizen of the United States, residing at North Adams, in the county of Berkshire and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Chair- Seats, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to seats for chairs and the like, and has for its object to provide a seat or bottom for chairs which may be conveniently applied, which will be strong and durable, which may be cheaply constructed, and which is sightly in appearance.

The seat which I have invented belongs to that class of seats frequently used in furniture work in substitution of cane and similar bottoms, or for repairing chairs in which the original bottom, of cane or other material, has been broken or worn, and such repair seats or bottoms have been heretofore made of veneers, metal, and other materials, so

that I do not wish to be understood as claim ing such articles broadly,'as my invention is limited to specific features of improvement of these old constructions.

Stated generally .my invention contemplates forming a seat of a cheap, heavy paper or wood pulp board, which, in its natural condition has not the necessary strength or rigidity to form a suitable seat, and treating said stock or pulp board in such a manner asto give it the rigidity along the lines of strain necessary to preserve its form and prevent its buckling or distortion in use, guard against warping because of atmospheric changes, and give it a finish which is highly ornamental and closely simulative of rush or braided work. i

In order that the invention may be understood by those skilled in the art I have illustrated in the drawings herewith one embodiment thereof, and in said drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View of a seat made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section of a portion of a chair showing the seat applied. Fig. 3 is a view, on a somewhat enlarged scale on the line'33, of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail plan view of the central portion of the seat shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional View of a portion of the seat on a magnified scale.

Referring to the drawings by numerals,

like numbers indicating like parts in the several views, 2 indicates the seat, which may be made in any suitable form, a substantially rectangular form being shown in Fig. 1, although'it will be understood that this is immaterial and the seat might be round or any other shape which necessity or fancy might dictate.

The'seat 2, as stated above, is preferably made of a cheap pulp board, and in the form herein shown is subjected to the action of suitable dies so that in its completed form it is made up of four substantially triangular and flat sections 3 the apices of which meet at the center of the seat, the entire seat being preferably depressed or dished toward its center as shownin Fig.2, and as indicated in Fig.3, so that a pyramidal arrangement of the sections 3 results. Each of these four sections 3 are separated from one another by diagonally-placed crossing lines 4 which lines are depressed so as to-form outstanding strengthening ribs 5 running crosswise of the seat, which ribs hold the seat in its normal position and give it rigidity to guard against buckling or distortion either when in use or because of warping due to atmospheric changes.

Each one of the sections 3 is preferably formed in a series of arches arranged in parallel lines, as shown at 6, and clearly indicated in enlarged Fig. 5, so that the seat, or rather the segmental portions 3 which make up the seat, are each made up of a plurality of arched portions 6 (see Fig. 5) which give a very strong and rigid sheet and one which will not sag or bend under pressure as would be the case if the arched conformation was not present.

, The ribs .or arches 6 of the adjacent segmental'portions 3 are preferably staggered with respect to each other, as more clearly shown in Fig. 4, this staggered relation of the abutting ribs 6 giving a closer relation of the sections and avoiding the appearance of a wide or open diagonal line 4, so that the effect of closely braided or rush work is secured, and additionally, from a mechanical standpoint, the danger of a weakened line along the diagonal dividing ribs 5 is avoided.

The stock, as has been stated, is subjected to the action of'dies which may or,.may not be heated, and as a result of this die compression the material of which the seat is formed is given a hard or indurated outer skin as indicated at 7, Fig. 5, and preferably the upper surface of the seat will be decorated by means of a coat of paint or varnish so as to guard against deterioration of the pulp if it should become wet, and this outer finish may of course be of any color or any decorative scheme may be adopted to give a pleasing appearance to the seat, or to imitate rush or braided seats.

A seat constructed in accordance with my invention may be very cheaply made of a reasonably inexpensive stock, and obviously it may be easily applied, as the ordinary fastening nails or tacks may be driven through the material into the wood of the chair without the necessity of forming nail holes in the seat before applying it. Fur thermore the seat by reason of the diagonal crossing ribs and the arched rib formation is extremely rigid, even where a comparatively light stock is used, and the tendency of such stock to become distorted is almost entirely eliminated by the conformation which is given to it in following my invention. Again the construction is such that the finished seat has the appearance of rush or braided work and lends itself very readily to a finish or decoration which produces a iighly ornamental article.

Having fully disclosed my invention, I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture a chair seat formed of a single sheet of material, and having a plurality of substantially fiat sections arranged in pyramidal relation to one another, and outstanding strengthening ribs at the meeting lines of said sections.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a

chair seat formed of a single sheet of ma- .1

said flat sections, each of said sections being made up of a plurality of arched sections.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a chair seat formed of a single sheet of ma.- terial, and having a plurality of substantially flat sections arranged in pyramidal relation to one another, and outstanding strengthening ribs at the meeting lines ot. said sections, each of said sections being made up of a plurality of arched parallel sections the ends of which are staggered with respect to the ends of the arched sections of the adjacent pyramidal sections.

A. As a new article of manufacture, a. chair seat formed of a single sheet of material, and composed of a plurality of sub stantially flat triangular sections which meet on diagonal lines, and having outstanding strengthening ribs at the n'ieeting lines, each of said triangular sections being composed of a plurality of arched sections.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARCHER H. BAR-BER. \Vitnesses E. N. SMITH, W. H. \VOODHEAD.

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